Invented a VAR system in 1998... but couldn't afford to build it'

A West Bromwich Albion supporter and Aston Villa fan filed a football-tech patent application in May 1998—an early concept for a VAR-style system that could track players, flag potential offsides and alert referees almost instantly. Andy Lyden and Dave Evans submitted it from Evans’ kitchen table in Sutton Coldfield, where they both worked through ideas while also debating downsides, including fears that frame-by-frame video reviews would slow the game. They noted football later rolled out goal-line tech in 2012 and a semi-live VAR trial in 2016, with semi-automated offside targeted for a 2022 World Cup. Lyden says they couldn’t afford to build it.